According to many of weight loss experts, there are three categories which cause weight gain – Predisposition to excessive accumulation of fat (genetic); Emotional Eaters; and those who make Poor Food Choices. 90% of individuals struggling with weight loss fall into “Emotional Eaters” category.

Your body needs energy to perform its daily tasks – keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing, operate your internal organs, keep your brain functioning, etc. We receive this energy through food. Food contains calories and number of calories in a food is a measure of how much potential energy that food possesses. One gram of carbohydrates has 4 calories, one gram of protein has 4 calories, and one gram of fat has 9 calories.

How many calories do you need to keep your body functioning? Women should aim for 1,200-1,500 and males require 1,500-2,000. The average American consumes 3,500-5,000 calories per day. An accumulation of 3,500 extra calories is stored by your body as one pound of fat.

Fast food has become a precious commodity for many individuals living life in fast lane. Problem is food we are eating is slowly killing us and rapidly making us fat. We stop for a greasy, fat-laden breakfast in morning and eat it in car while we’re stressed out over a traffic jam or talking on our cell phone. No wonder so many people suffer from acid reflux.

When lunch time rolls around we head to our local McDonald’s for a super sized meal, which includes a Big Mac (590 calories, 34 grams of fat), large order of fries (540 calories, 26 grams of fat) and a large coke (450 calories). Add a McFlurry to that order and you’ll consume an additional 620 calories and 23 grams of fat.*

After work we stop for Chinese carry-out or opt for delivered pizza for dinner. Many of us indulge in ice cream, cookies, or chips just before bedtime and before we know it, we’ve devoured a boat load of calories and scales keep going up. One major step in losing weight is to determine a cut-off time and don’t eat one single morsel after that time. Experts recommend you stop eating any food or high calorie beverage at least 2-3 hours before your normal bedtime.

We have orange juice and antacids that are fortified with calcium, yet we eat far less total food, take in less calcium, and get less exercise than our grandparents did. At same time we consume more animal protein and phosphate-containing foods, such as soft drinks. Obviously, we need to eat more of right foods and take high-quality supplements in some form as well.

Osteoporosis is a progressive disease of skeleton in which amount of calcium present in bones slowly decreases to point where bones become brittle and prone to fracture. In other words, bone loses density.

The term osteoporosis is derived from Latin and literally means "porous bones." Because of physiological, nutritional, and hormonal differences between women and men, osteoporosis primarily affects women. This debilitating disease afflicts more women than heart disease, stroke, diabetes, breast cancer, or arthritis. 50% of all women between ages of 45 and 75 show signs of some degree of osteoporosis. Over a third of that group suffer from serious bone deterioration.

Unfortunately, bone loss causes no symptoms while it is occuring. It is very common for a woman to be totally unaware that she has osteoporosis until what should have been a minor accident causes her to break a bone, oftentimes a wrist or a hip. In advanced cases of osteoporosis, a simple hug can result in fractured or broken ribs.

As bone loss advances, vertebrae are subject to what are called compression fractures, crowding nerves of spine and various internal organs and causing a loss of height. It is this compression that causes "dowager's hump" that many women develop as they age. Osteoporosis can also be a contributing factor in tooth loss; when structure of jawbone weakens, it can no longer hold teeth firmly in place.

There are two basic types of osteoporosis. Type I, or high turnover, osteoporosis occurs in some women between ages of 50 and 75 because of sudden postmenopausal decrease in estrogen levels, which results in a rapid depletion of calcium from skeleton. It is associated with fractures that occur when vertebrae compress together causing a collapse of spine and fractures of hip, wrist, or forearm caused by falls or minor accidents.

Type II, or low turnover, osteoporosis is linked to dietary deficiency, especially a lack of sufficient calcium and vitamin D, which is necessary for absorption of calcium. Many women mistakenly believe that osteoporosis is something they need be concerned about only after menopause. Recent evidence indicates that osteoporosis often begins early in life and is not strictly a postmenopausal problem. Although bone loss accelerates after menopause as a result of drop in estrogen levels, it begins in premenopausal years.

Many people believe that osteoporosis is caused soley by a dietary calcium deficiency and that it can be "fixed" by taking calcium supplements. Wrong. While calcium supplements are important in dealing with osteoporosis, there are other considerations as well. Vitamins C, D, E, and K all play vital roles in battling osteoporosis, as does protein. Regulating amounts of certain minerals, such as magnesium, phophorus, silicon, boron, zinc, manganese, and copper, in body are also important in maintaining proper calcium levels. Exercise is another vital factor.